| 摘要 |
The present invention describes how MHC-like molecules can be formulated in an active form and stored under conditions, which preserve their activity for an extended period of time, while readily allowing the end-user to generate any ligand-MHC-complex of their choice. The present inventors have termed the product of this invention: "formulated MHC molecules". The utility of such formulated MHC molecules is considerable. One has to keep in mind that an entire arm of the immune system, the T cell immune system, is based upon the recognition of ligands selected and presented by MHC molecules. These ligands constitute the targets of the cellular immune system. They include foreign targets such as vaccine and/or immunotherapy candidates, who can be used to direct immunity against infectious agents and cancers, as well as self-targets involved in the development of autoimmune diseases and transplantation reactions. The availability of formulated MHC molecules affords a non-expert end-user with the enabling technology to identify and validate MHC ligands, and subsequently to generate specific ligand-MHC-complexes for the identification, validation, selection, and induction of specific T cells. The present invention therefore facilitates specific analysis and manipulation of the immune system. |
